If you are reading this post because you want a cheap Sphynx kitten or cat then I have the following to say to you.

If you can’t afford the asking price of a reputable breeder then you aren’t going to be able to look after the Sphynx once you have it.

They eat more than normal cats = higher food bills

They require more heat that normal cats = higher power bills

They have grooming requirements = time and money

And although you can rescue a Sphynx cat (and I would love all the Sphynxes that need rescuing to always go to a loving and caring home) only experienced Sphynx owners should really take on the task of rescue. Many rescue Sphynxes come with pre-existing conditions (because they are often old) or have been living in less than ideal conditions that can cause mental and physical issues.

Buying from a reputable breeder at the full price should also mean you get a health guarantee included in your purchase contract. That protects you, the breeder and your cat.

I can’t think of anything more heart breaking than buying from a kitten mill only to see your little baby die because it was not bred properly.

Please, PLEASE, don’t buy a “cheap Sphynx cat” and let’s stamp out unscrupulous breeders.

Raw Food Value

One of the main reasons I was looking to move the cats to a raw food diet was the cost of the premium food I was feeding them. The three of them were going through on a daily basis around 10 cans of wet food (10 x 85grams) at $1.45 each. Add on top of that the dry food at around $2 a day ($42 a bag for 3.63 kg ) and we have a total of $16.35 a DAY.

Compare that to my first batch of raw food in which I made a bit of a logistical error on when I purchased chickens at $5.95 a kg (when I thought the sign said $5.95 each – oops!). All up I made around 6 days worth from 2 chickens + giblets + hearts + livers + turkey mince + butternut pumpkin (squash). Sum total $30 or $5 a day.

That’s a 66% saving.

Raw Food Bowel Benefits

If you are a Sphynx owner then you will know the pain and embarrassment of what can happen when your Sphynx eats something that doesn’t agree with it. Firstly there is the soft bowel movements (to be kind) or the out and out explosive diarrhea.The stench of the stool is so bad that sometimes it felt like we were living in an open sewer. Finally there is the rumbling belly that can end in gas so bad it can clear a room. A Sphynx’s gut is a sensitive thing.

On the manufactured food all three of my gang had stinky poos and the kitten had smelly farts. The consistency of their bowel movements were softish.

Introduce the raw diet and within one day they had firmer poos and ….none of that house clearing stench! It used to be easy to know when one had gone to the litter box. Now I have to check the boxes to see if there is poo there because the smell is not strong enough to alert anyone that they have gone.

I didn’t bother doing a slow introduction to the gang as they were having chicken wings a few times a week to supplement the manufactured food. There has been no negative response from their digestive tracts what-so-ever.

I don’t think I have been this happy about the state of poo since I had my human babies!

But Do The Sphynx Cats Like Their New Raw Diet?

From the moment I put the first bowl down all three have been massive fans of the new food. The three eat around 650-800 grams at a sitting which is around the same as what they were eating with the manufactured food. Sphynx cat Luna used to eat mostly dry food whereas Sphynx cat Pierre and Sphynx Kitten Lucy ate a combination.

Feed times are filled with smacking lips as they race each other to finish their bowls. They just LOVE it.

Raw Sphynx Cat Food Recipe

For 6 days – 3 cats

4 kilos whole chicken
.5 kilos chicken giblets
.5 kilos chicken hearts
.5 kilos chicken livers
.5 kilos turkey mince
.5 kilos butternut pumpkin
Lysine freeze dried powder
Pro-Biotic liquid

Meat cut up and run through a Northern Tool Grinder (highly recommended!) and the whole thing took less than half an hour.

1. It’s winter here in Australia and all 3 are eating 10 x 85gram cans of food each between them a day. At $1.45 a can thats OVER $100 a WEEK
2. While cat food in Australia is good (much better than I believe it is in the USA) I have always leaned towards doing what is natural, rather than artificial
3. My Italian Greyhound is getting on in years and losing teeth, he can also benefit from eating the same diet
4. The more I read about the pet food industry, the more I despise supporting them

There are some excellent posts on the topic over at the Sphynx Forum and I have certainly learned a great deal in the last weeks of research.

Up until now my guys have been on a mix of raw and artificial foods. They enjoy eating both and I don’t think they will be much of an issue crossing over straight into raw. I have had an issue in another area though.

Getting my hands on a meat grinder that is powerful enough to munch up chicken bones, but not a full deer/cow carcass has been quite difficult. I am not going to spend a gazillion dollars on an industrial/commercial model, nor do I want to by a plastic “mincer” that won’t do the job. In the end I purchased from good old Amazon a model I saw recommended on another blog – Northern Electric Meat Grinder – at $99 it is much cheaper than anything the same quality here in Australia.

Once I have it in my hot little hand I am going to put videos up of making that raw diet for people that are looking for instructions on how-to.

The make up of the diet will be 1/2 whole chicken meat and bone, 1/4 chicken and turkey gizzards including kidney/hearts, 3/16turkey/beef mince, 1/16th cooked pumpkin, pro-biotic mix, l-lysine, and vitamin mix

My next step is to find if there are any organic chicken outlets with reasonable priced birds. Breast enlarging hormones can’t be good for cats.

Headlines like the one below also attract the unscrupulous kitten mill breeder who will exploit a breeding Queen and the people they sell to, all in the name of a quick dollar.

If you are here to get more information about the breed than I congratulate you on putting in the time to research the breed. They do have a set of needs that are distinct from other cat breeds and more resemble that of a toddler child.  The pair used as models for the article above are in desperate need of a face wash, and that is not unusual of the breed. Wiping mucky eyes, ears, and staining on the nose is going to be part of your daily routine. Can you put up with that as an owner?

If you have any doubt at all whether you will be able to dedicate yourself to a Sphynx then I implore you to wait, or choose something else that requires less care. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad person, but not everyone has the lifestyle that can fit in with the needs of a Sphynx Kitten or Sphynx Cat.

Luna recovered after treatment and antibiotics and we kept an eye on her since because she will always carry it and could again have a flare up.

Fast forward to when Pierre was mauled by the dog next door and it became apparent during his recovery that the stress of the attack and recovery had caused him to have health issues too. With red runny eyes and occasional sneezing the vet advised this was possibly chlamydia, another contagious illness, and started him on antibiotics. That seemed to work and he was back to his crazy self after a couple of weeks.

Then came Lucy into the house and illness has raised its head again. This time both Pierre and Luna have serious respiratory issues (bronchial pneumonia) and are on some strong antibiotics and expectorants. Pierre and Luna are exhibiting completely different symptoms which doesn’t help with a firm diagnosis. Pierre has an “impressive” cough, the vet’s description not mine, and is listless with a slight temperature. Luna is sneezing, spraying mucous from her nose, listless and has developed small pinprick sores on her face.

What is most worrisome is that Lucy today started sneezing and has one runny eye and the vet has put her on antibiotics too.

The plan is to monitor carefully and if any deterioration then it will be time to sample the lung expectorate. I’ll keep you informed.

[update - I did post more about Pierre's illness which turned out not to be Chlamydia but Mycoplasma felis . Click on the link to read about it]

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects the heart by thickening the walls of the myocardium. HCM affects humans and certain breeds of animals. We have all read stories of fit young people who have died on the sporting field, in many cases the cause is HCM.

In the Sphynx breed (and others) research is continuing into the cause of HCM but the genetic link is indisputable which is why screening for HCM and declarations by your breeder are of utmost importance. It is still possible to contract HCM without a genetic cause, but in the whole that is not as common as inheriting the disorder. If one parent has the genetic trait to pass on HCM, then the chances are 50% of their kittens can develop it.

Reputable breeders of Sphynx cats are working hard to try and breed this disorder out as much as possible. Do NOT buy from a breeder who does not screen for HCM.

HCM Screening

The most reliable way to diagnose HCM, even in an animal showing no signs, is for your cat to have an echo cardiogram (ECG) performed by a qualified radiologist/cardiologist. Be prepared as a Sphynx owner to screen once every year to ensure your Sphynx is not developing HCM.

Symptoms of HCM

Sadly symptoms can go completely unnoticed by owners because they are so subtle. A slight rise in respirations per minute may be the only visible sign. There may be a gradual increase in lethargy. Your vet may detect a hurt murmur and you should ask that he investigate further should that be the case.

Treatment of HCM

There is no cure for HCM, and treatment will come in the form of various medications such as beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, to help with heart failure. Diuretics to reduce fluid build up, and blood thinners to reduce the risk of clots.

If your cat is showing any signs of paralysis or breathing difficulties you must take them to a vet immediately, there is nothing you can do to alleviate pain or suffering, and delay will cause damage to become potentially permanent.

Probable Cause of Ludwig’s Death

In the course of HCM clots can form due to blood circulation in the enlarged chambers being abnormal. These clots can then enter the blood stream and travel to where the blood vessel branches become too narrow to pass. This will cut off blood flow to that area causing paralysis and pain. This is called saddle thrombosis and is most likely what caused the death of Ludwig. Descriptions of his back end being mangled (paralysed) and his heart giving out, sound very much like this type of clot.

Prognosis for cats with saddle thrombosis is poor. Some can survive after mild cases on blood thinning medication, but the underlying cause, the HCM will continue to be a major health risk factor. In studies of necropsies on cats it was found that 48% of cats that died from saddle thrombosis had HCM.

My favourite reaction was a little old lady who was there to pick up her crazy, circle spinning hairy pooch. On seeing Luna she went over instantly to her and gave her pats and strokes and said “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing!?”. Of course Luna just lapped it all up.

Until we went into the vet’s room anyway. Luna looks to have a fungal infection in one of her toenails. We have been monitoring the nail to see if it would clear up, but so far no luck. Before going to the expense of tests for fungus we will try soaking her feet in Malaseb which will kill any fungus (if that’s what it is).

Remember way back when we talked about Pierre’s tail chewing habit? Well he has stopped doing that and his tail has healed nicely. Unfortunately what hasn’t healed is a rash that he got after cooking himself on his heat mat over winter. First it appeared to be a heat rash, but after it not going away even after the heat mats were turned off we were puzzled why it is so slow to heal. It doesn’t seem to bother him, and where he can’t lick it it just looks like a scab. Where he can lick it has a reddish cast and could be infected (no pus or discharge, just red). So it is onto antibiotics for him for a week to see if that helps with the healing. If no change then it’s skin scrape time.

He gets to have Malaseb baths as well.  More on their progress in later posts.

Update on weights

Luna 3.3kg

Pierre 3.8kg

Click to buy online

Wild cats gather their nutritional requirements from meat and meat only. If you came here hoping to be able to feed your Sphynx a vegetarian diet, I am afraid you are going to be disappointed. Not only are Sphynxes pure (obligate) carnivores, they also react in an extra negative fashion to low quality pet food products which include vegetable materials.

Let’s look at what Sphynxes need from their meat. These figures are a minimum requirements

Adult Sphynx Cat Food

Protein… 26%
Fat …… 9%
Calcium…. 0.6%
Phosphorus… 0.5%
Potassium… 0.6%
Sodium….. 0.2%
Chloride…. 0.3%
Magnesium… 0.04%
Iron… 80 mg/kg
Copper… 5 mg/kg
Manganese…. 7.5 mg/kg
Zinc……. 75 mg/kg (maximum 2000 mg/kg)
Iodine….. 0.35 mg/kg
Selenium…. 0.1 mg/kg
Vitamin A… 5000 IU/kg (maximum 750,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin D… 500 IU/kg (maximum 10,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin E… 30 IU/kg
Thiamine… 5 mg/kg
Riboflavin… 4 mg/kg
Pantothenic Acid… 5 mg/kg
Niacin… 60 mg/kg
Pyridoxine… 4 mg/kg
Folic Acid….0.8 mg/kg
Vitamin B12…0.022 mg/kg
Choline….. 2400 mg/kg
Taurine… 0.1%

If you feed your cat a pure fish diet, then you need to ensure you supplement with vitamin K at 0.1%

For Sphynx kitten food,  Pregnant and Lactating  Sphynx Queens

Protein… 30%
Fat …… 9%
Calcium…. 1%
Phosphorus… 0.8%
Potassium… 0.6%
Sodium….. 0.2%
Chloride…. 0.3%
Magnesium… 0.08%
Iron… 80 mg/kg
Copper… 5-15 mg/kg
Manganese…. 7.5 mg/kg
Zinc……. 75 mg/kg (maximum 2000 mg/kg)
Iodine….. 0.35 mg/kg
Selenium…. 0.1 mg/kg
Vitamin A… 9000 IU/kg (maximum 750,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin D… 750 IU/kg (maximum 10,000 IU/kg)
Vitamin E… 30 IU/kg
Thiamine… 5 mg/kg
Riboflavin… 4 mg/kg
Pantothenic Acid… 5 mg/kg
Niacin… 60 mg/kg
Pyridoxine… 4 mg/kg
Folic Acid….0.8 mg/kg
Vitamin B12…0.022 mg/kg
Choline….. 2400 mg/kg
Taurine… 0.1%

(Figures are from the AAFCO Cat Food Nutrient Profile, referred to by pet food bodies worldwide. This is an industry standard recommendation and not a scientific one)

It is not always possible to feed your cat raw food.  I am not going to push the “raw food only” line because there are reasons and conditions when it is difficult for Sphynx cat owners to do so. So saying that, feeding canned and manufactured dry foods means keeping a good eye on what the label says when it comes to what that food is made up of.

The biggest gut issues Sphynxes have can be linked to manufactured cat food that use “fillers” made from vegetable and cellulose matter. It might sound mighty tasty to us to see a bag proclaiming chicken and brown rice, but that brown rice is going to give your Sphynx Cat or kitten, gas, diarrhea and a bloated (painful) tummy.

How to read a pet food label

These rules may not apply in your country so check your local pet food standards

Pet food labels should follow standards held mostly worldwide that the ingredients are listed in order of predominance by weight including moisture, before cooking.

Use of the term “meat” can only be used for clean flesh, with or without the fat, skin, sinew, nerves, blood vessels. Meat byproducts include internal organs and parts of the animal, and ground meat meal will be parts of the animal like head, feed and other parts that would not be able to be consumed normally.

If you see corn,rice, wheat, or references to them up in that first couple of ingredients then thing very carefully as that food is using fillers for bulk weight and adding nothing to the nutrition or health of your Sphynx cat. Look for grain-free foods and ones that the majority of listed ingredients are meats.

Remember to  take with a grain of salt (terrible pun) everything that is said on or about pet food by the sales and marketing companies. There is a brand out there that has made a specialized “Sphynx Cat”  dry food that contains grain products and does not have any scientific basis on its development.

References

Your Cat’s Nutritional Needs

Check the Bag

I Am No Expert

Yep I don’t know much about arty photography, but I know what I like. So I take pictures of that. I love the silhouette of the Sphynx, so very unique. I like seeing their skin in dappled light, and I like seeing their gorgeous wrinkles defined by light.

You might like their eyes, or the wrinkly toe skin, or that inquisitive look when they turn to ask you a question (meow?).  Whatever it is, that’s the place to start trying to grab a good picture of.

Get Down

How many “great” pictures of cats have you seen are taken from human eye height down to ground level…that’s right, probably none. Taking pictures from cat level or lower brings “more” to the picture in adding interest and a different perspective. Why are we fascinated by those pictures of furred cats we have seen on glass coffee tables ? Because they reveal secrets in a normal activity, and we all love secrets, they fascinate us.

So change angle, lay on the ground if you have to, but get used to being active in your stance.

Work With Me Darling

Digital cameras have opened up the world of photography to us all by allowing us to take as many pictures as a model photographer does, without the pain and expense of having to pay to have them developed. Still many people are in that “one shot” mode…break that habit now!

The more pictures you take, the more you will learn, and the more chance you will have of getting that “great” shot. I have thousands of pictures of Luna and Pierre, most of them are ho-hum, but there are always diamonds in the rough. Do not think that every picture has to be outstanding; if that was the case, why would those model photographers take hundreds of pictures? Up your shutter speed and see if your camera has multi-shot (sometimes called sports) mode.

My Camera Is No Good

My digital camera is about four years old (practically ancient in the world of digital cameras) but it was the top of the line in its day. If you can’t afford the top of the line now, buy a second hand top of the line that is a few years old. Digital cameras are at the stage where the incremental improvements are not as great as they were when they were a new technology. A good camera from a few years ago is still a good camera now.

Cheating

Digital images mean you can also remove a multitude of sins. You can crop images so they appear more balanced, you can increase or decrease light levels. You can do all sorts of things if you are really into making your picture look awesome.

I admit I cheat with some of my sphynx cat pictures by *gasp* PhotSshopping (actually I use GIMP but most people know what Photoshop is) out the ear wax! It’s not hard and then that great picture that is marred by a small blemish can be fixed in a jiffy.

I call it cheating but it’s up to the individual really what they think of enhancing their pictures. Some think that removing the red-eye from a picture is reprehensible, and some believe stretching a model to super human lengths is OK. I am somewhere in the middle.

Bright Light, Bright Light!

When you have eyes that are set up for seeing better in the dark than in the light (cats’ eyes are) then getting a camera flash in your face is going to annoy you no end.  An annoyed cat is not going to be a good subject for a picture.

If you are in a dark area then up the ISO and cross your fingers, or change the angle of the flash so it is not straight on.

Sphynxes look amazing in natural light. I am not sure if it is because we don’t see them outside that often and it is a curiosity, or if it’s because they just look great in natural light. I try to get those out doors in natural light pictures when ever I can (without getting them sunburned of course!).

Well that’s a start… we still need to talk about getting attention, backgrounds and backdrops, black and white, macro but they can wait for another post.

Check your email if you are a member of our mailing list to see if you were one of the lucky ones (If you aren’t a member of the mailing list you are missing out on great Sphynx Cat prizes like this).

Sphynx Cats: What Every (Potential) Owner Should Know is aimed at potential, new and existing owners of Sphynx cats and is chock full of information that three years of research and ownership has given me. The eBook is over 50 pages long and has some lovely Sphynx cat pictures of Sphynx cat Luna and Sphynx Kitten Pierre.

I will be offering all members of my mailing list a massive 40% off the public price of the ebook so there’s one more reason to get on the list if you aren’t.